cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, a free hit is a delivery to a batter in which the batter cannot be dismissed by any methods other than those applicable for a

no-ball In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especiall ...

, namely run out,

hit the ball twice Hit the ball twice, or ''"double-hit"'', is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. Its occurrence in modern cricket is exceptionally rare. Definition Law 34.1 of the Laws of Cricket states: 34.1 Out Hit the ball twice 34.1.1 The strik ...

and

obstructing the field Obstructing the field is one of the ten methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is Law 37 of the Laws of cr ...

. It is relevant in

One Day Internationals A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

and

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inning ...

matches. When a bowler bowls a

, the immediate next ball is a free hit. Additionally, if the ball is delivered full toss above the waist the batter receives a free hit.

History

It came into international cricket in October 2007. Initially only foot fault no balls resulted in a free hit. From 2015, the rules were changed so that all no balls result in a free hit.

Advantage gained

The opportunity afforded by a free hit ball enables the batter to play a more powerful shot without the fear of getting out by the most common methods (caught or

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

). The fault lies with the fielding side, and the advantage is to the batting side. The only possible modes of dismissal on a free hit delivery are the same as those applicable on a no ball, viz. run out,

and

. If the batter is

caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

on a free hit delivery, the ball would still be

in play Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it or the players from their respective positions of significance. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite rout ...

and the batter can score runs. In case of bowled, the runs would be awarded to the batsman if the bat made contact with the ball before hitting the stumps; in case of

clean bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

the runs are counted under byes. An instance of the latter happened in an ODI between India and England in January 2017, when

Liam Plunkett Liam Edward Plunkett (born 6 April 1985) is an English cricketer who bowls right-arm fast. He was an England international until 2019, and was part of the squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He most recently played domestic cricket for ...

clean bowled

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...

off a free hit delivery and the ball rolled away to the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film * Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pl ...

, giving India four byes.

Fielding restrictions

The fielding team is not allowed to change the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

for the free hit ball, if the same batter (who received the original no-ball) is on strike. However, for safety reasons, if the

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

is standing up at the stumps they are allowed to move back to a more traditional position. If the batters ran an odd number of runs on the original no-ball, the other batter is now the striker, and the field may be re-positioned for the free hit. In fact re-positioning is also allowed if the striker changes for whatever reason, for example if a new batter replaces a striker who is run out on the original no-ball, by failing to make his ground on the second run. The field must also be re-positioned if the no-ball was called for an illegal field placement.

Signal

The umpire at the bowler's end signals that the next ball is a free hit by making circular movements in the air with one raised hand. The free hit is carried over to the next ball if the original free hit ball is bowled wide or a no-ball; in this case the umpire is required to signal the free hit again.

References

{{Reflist Cricket terminology